Twisted Straight - Bush Didn't Mislead Nation

National security advisor Stephen Hadley admitted today that the administration was wrong about Weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, but insisted that President Bush did not manipulate intelligence to mislead the American people. "There was absolutely no malice or manipulation involved," insisted Hadley. "Frankly, the president simply isn't that competent. I assure you that any manipulation to the intelligence was handled by assistance and people like Vice President Cheney - people who are experts at manipulating intelligence. The President had nothing to do with it."

"We were wrong about WMD," said National security advisor Stephen Hadley, who has since received numerous awards from a grateful president.

The morning talk shows were flooded with Republican lawmakers who supported this view. "The president does not need to manipulate intelligence to mislead the American people," said RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman. "He is perfectly capable of misleading the American people with no intelligence at all."

Senator John McCain accused the Democrats of being unpatriotic by accusing the president of intentionally misleading the public. "Any Democrat who would say anything negative out the president in time of war is clearly an unpatriotic terrorist and should be taken to a CIA safe house to be tortured."

Ineffective congressional Democrats were surprised by McCain's statement. "We thought he was one of the more moderate Senators," said one leading Democrat.

Later reports confirmed that he was, in fact, moderate - as it turned out that numerous other Republicans were actually on their way that morning with chain saws to personally decapitate their Democratic counterparts. However, the presence of reporters and talk show hosts delayed the violence, as no congressman of either party can resist stopping at a camera or microphone.

Commentary:

I've long felt there were only two possibilities with regards to the president's role in starting the Iraq war. Either he lied about the reasons for going to war, or he and his administration were incompetent. I'm sorry, but saying "I'm sorry, we were wrong about the WMD" (not that the president has actually said that), doesn't cut it. Going to war is something you do when you are absolutely certain. When you've checked and double checked all of the evidence. And if the evidence is not completely persuasive, only when there is credible threat of an imminent attack. That argument might have applied to Afghanistan, whose Taliban support of Al Qaeda made them partners in threats executed and promised, but it did not apply to Iraq.

By either argument, malice or incompetence, the president's actions simply do not live up to the minimal expectations and requirements of someone holding that office.